Anyone else? Candida, bacteria, and parasites! Oh My!!

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chelsifina
chelsifina Posts: 346 Member
in Motivation and Support
Over the past couple of years my health and well-being have taken a slow, yet unstoppable nose-dive. I've been trying to lose weight and I keep getting sidelined by miscellaneous illnesses and injuries, including a resting HR of 130 that landed me in the ER. Doctors kept telling me that this was an emotional issue (I was given Paxil) and just the result of having two kids, including 2 different cardiologists. I feel like I am 80 years old and was considering quitting my job, which I love. I finally found a doctor who listened and tested every single thing she possibly could. She discovered I have a compromised immune system (low white blood cell count and neutrophils) related to 2 parasitic infections, a candida infection, and a bacterial infection in my intestines. I'm not absorbing the vitamins and minerals from my food, and I'm not making enough vitamin D (I have tan lines!!!! how can that be?) Antibiotics would help the Candida, plus one of the parasites is resistant to all antibiotics, so that would be pointless. My treatment is a drastic change in diet called that Candida diet and a ton of supplements. It should take about three months to clear up, but after that I should feel amazing.
This is hopeful, but I'm not certain this will work, and I'm just so tired. having this diet is pretty depressing, and I can't really figure how to incorporate it into my harried life. I don't have the energy yet to cook this much, and I don't know enough to have any hacks. Does anyone have advice? encouragement? A light at the end of the tunnel?

help!

Replies

  • lauradel9
    lauradel9 Posts: 8
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    Hi!
    I'm sorry to hear of all the struggles. I have an autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's) coupled with adrenal insufficiency, and suffer from candida on and off. It is a daily battle to function alike the other people my age; my energy levels, stamina, muscle tone, fat retention, metabolism, recovery time is of someone 20 years my senior.
    I've been on the anti-inflammation diet for a couple years but really have been strict with it past year. There is definite improvement when I am strict. Diet is everything when your intestines are compromised so I'm happy to see that you're on the right path. In addition my doctor told me to take an L-Glutamine supplement since it helps with intestinal healing, and best taken in-between meals. For parasites, I take a tablespoon of food grade Diatomaceous Earth. I stay away from yeast, fungus, alcohol, antibiotics, processed food and I limit sugar, but load up on probiotics, all of this to not instigate cadida.
    90 percent of my meals are cooked at home and it pays off. Keep things simple if you have limited time and energy. For instance, my go-to is all-natural or organic poultry or white wild-caught fish that is cooked on the george foreman, and then brown rice or chickpeas, and of course loads of organic greens.

    Best of luck! <3
  • chelsifina
    chelsifina Posts: 346 Member
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    Thanks so much for your reply. I can't tell you how encouraging it is to talk to someone in the same boat. I feel as though I have been abruptly tossed out of the world I knew, and I'm so surprised by this feelings. I had taken for granted how integral the types of food I eat are to my lifestyle, especially my social life! I can't figure out what to eat each day!! I have to cook for my family, and my kids certainly don't want to eat like this. My husband is very supportive, but I'm at a complete loss for lunch, where bread or pasta played such a huge role. I just can't imagine living the rest of my life this way, but I suppose if I felt loads better, I wouldn't have a complaint. Oh, and wine!!! That special treat at the end of day, with a square or two of dark chocolate - oh, it made the whole day alright. What do you snack on, or treat yourself with?
  • RubyRubixcube
    RubyRubixcube Posts: 258 Member
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    hiii! I saw Candida and it got my attention! I had a really bad case a few years back & my naturopath put me onto an awesome diet to fix it. No joke it changed my eye colour, reduced bloating, cleared up my skin and gave me a bunch more energy along with a few other things. if your interested I still have the diet and will post it on my blog later.

    I go back on this diet once every 6 months just to clear my body out... its like my own little detox
  • RubyRubixcube
    RubyRubixcube Posts: 258 Member
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    I wont just blog it, this should be accesible to everyone:

    CANDIDA CONTROL DIET PROGRAM


    Avoid All Junk Food, 9 white sugar, white flour, soft drinks).
    Include liberal amounts of nutritious food from wide sources
    Avoid All sugars, chocolate, honey, molasses, and maple syrup
    Avoid All fruits and juices
    Try not to eat the same foods every day
    Feature low carbohydrate vegetables, seafood, lean meats, and eggs, You can include one serving of high carbohydrate vegetable OR a single portion of a whole grain at each meal




    FOODS YOU CAN EAT FREELY

    Most of these vegetables contain lots of fibre and are relatively low in carbohydrates. Eat cooked or raw – asparagus, beets, broccoli, brusdsel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green pepper, greens, spinach, mustyard, kale, garlic, lettuce, onions, parsley, radishes, soybeans, string beans, tomatoes, turnips, okra

    MEAT / EGGS
    Chicken, turkey, beef, lean cuts, veal, pork, lamb, shrimp, crab, lobster, tuna, other seafood, salmon, mackerel, cod, sardines, eggs,

    BEVERAGES
    Water and non- sweetened herbal teas

    FOODS YOU CAN EAT CAUTIOUSLY – HIGH CARB VEG
    Sweet corn, English peas, squashes, butternut, lima beans, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, peas

    WHOLE GRAINS
    Barley, corn, millet, oats, rice, wheat

    BREADS, BISCUITS, MUFFINS
    All breads, biscuits and muffins should be made with baking powder or baking soda as a leavening agent

    DAIRY
    Yogurt – natural potset


    FOODS YOU MUST AVOID – SUGAR AND SUGAR CONTAINING FOODS

    All sugar and its substitutes, also honey, maple syrup, maple sugar

    PACKAGING AND PROCESSED FOODS
    Canned bottled boxed foods and other packaged and processed foods

    BREADS, PASTERIES AND OTHER RAISED BAKERY GOODS


    MILK AND CHEESES
    Avoid mouldy cheeses

    ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
    Wine, beer etc

    CONDIMENTS, SAUCES AND VINEGAR CONTAINING FOODS

    MALT PRODUCTS
    Malted milk drinks, cereals, and candy

    PROCESSED AND SMOKED MEATS

    EDIBLE FUNGI
    All types of mushrooms

    MELONS
    Watermelon, honeydew and cateloupe

    COFFEE AND TEA

    LEFTOVERS
    Moulds grow in leftover foods. Freezing is better but raw, organic fresh food is best.

    GOODLUCK!!!

    - Seriously addictive once you get into it. The range of gluten free products becoming easily available on the market these days is incredible!!
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
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    Are you sure they are treating you for Candida with an antibiotic? I noticed you mentioned a bacterial infection - that I could see being treated that way but not generally Candida. That seems really odd. I've always been given Nystatin to kill it in my blood stream once it goes out of control (had this issue since being a teenager - multiple times have dealt with Candida and even had bloodwork to check on it). I have had severe allergic reactions to it when it's out of wack in my body. Usually, the candida is caused by the actual antibiotics that kill off the good bacteria in your system. I always ask for Nystatin at the same time as I take the antibiotic as I'm prone to this type of outbreak. Did you mean maybe probiotics?

    http://www.soyouwanna.com/antibiotics-used-cure-candida-7782.html

    I would ask your doctor about something like Nystatin or one of the other oral medications out there to kill it and probably ask if you should be taking Acidopholis at the same time or maybe eating lots of yogurt. I do know my doctors always told me to lower my sugar levels while taking the Nystatin. Sugar feeds the yeast infection.

    As for the parasite, I would ask for a referral to another doctor. You need a specialist who deals with parasites to help you with that one. There have to be specialists out there with newer treatments or ones at a larger teaching college who may have access to parasites from other countries. There are a lot of problems imported into our country at times through food supplies so you usually need a different doctor to recognize a solution. That's why second opinions exist. :happy:

    I hope you feel better soon. I know it's miserable when you have a really bad Candida infection.
  • chelsifina
    chelsifina Posts: 346 Member
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    No no, they CANNOT treat my parasites or bacterial infection with an antibiotic because of the candida. Yeah, that would be crazy!!! Thanks for checking!!!!!! Perhaps I wrote that down incorrectly initially.
  • MuddyEquestrian
    MuddyEquestrian Posts: 366 Member
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    I also suffer from a compromised immune system, IBD and diverticulosis. I try to take out "inflammatory" foods and have completely cut wheat out of my diet. It's a struggle that many people do not understand but it WILL get better. If I am very strict I feel amazing but if I slack I instantly feel worse. It's hard being young and feeling like you're three times your age but you just have to learn to try to stay positive and realize how far you've come! good luck, I know how frustrating it can be.
  • chelsifina
    chelsifina Posts: 346 Member
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    Yeah, people not understanding does make it tough. My husband is super supportive, but his family thinks I'm exaggerating, which is very irritating. Right now my primary problem is that I feel hungry all the time (just started logging again so perhaps I'm not getting enough calories) and that many of my feel good treat foods are gone. Food feels like medicine now - something you take for your health in carefully screened and prepared portions, and no fun about it at all. Perhaps I should roast a chicken - that was always a treat. I was never too indulgent and always good with moderation, but now to potentially have to get rid of all these great things forever (wine, chocolate, cookies and milk) leaves me not really knowing what to do to have fun. I have such a busy life that food became the easy, quick thing to brighten up my day. What now? Do you eat out? Can you? Do you enjoy it? How on earth can you travel? Do you cook all of your meals while on vacation? I just can't figure it all out yet.
  • lauradel9
    lauradel9 Posts: 8
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    I'm happy to hear from others facing challenges as well; it's comforting. :)

    The changes will be big, and the people around you may discredit the changes or tempt you but once you start eating clean for a few weeks, you know it's worth it. I didn't phase everything out all at once. I'd say to leave out, what you can for now (gluten maybe to start) and then you can work on kicking out dairy for instance once you're used to no gluten. It's not good to be miserable even if you are eating healthy, right? I got off soy, gluten and white sugar for a good while, and then took others out. It then took me an entire year to finally quit caffeine. Boy was that tough, but it's done, and my body thanks me regardless of the timing.

    A great book to help you rethink processed, dairy, steroid and hormone-pumped meat, etc. is "Skinny *****," regardless of the crass title, it has some good tips. They perfer a vegan diet, but I took away good info while keeping organic poultry and fish.

    The one lady's suggestion to change diets, while I can see the benefits, is rather extreme. I doubt many people go from eating the Standard American Diet (not saying you do) to a diet of that measure. I just think the anti-inflammation diet could help you ease transition and then maybe try her plan once having tackled a number of unhealthy foods.

    When I want something sweet, I will do hershey's unsweetened cooca, truvia and some goat's milk, or a small piece of dark raw chocolate, a few organic berries (try to keep my fruit limit to 2 servings/pieces a day or less though), vitamin water zero, flavored Kefir, a mango, etc. But I try to limit sweets as much as possible. Keeping protein in the body ever few hours helps with cravings. As far as alchol, I changed over to club soda with lime and finding new ways to relax like lighting incense while reading, yoga, etc.

    What does your doctor want you to do exactly?
  • Broejen
    Broejen Posts: 413 Member
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    I went on the Candida Diet in 2010 for 6 weeks thinking it was candida that was causing my itchiness (all over my body with no bumps or rashes). I hate cooking so I barely ate anything (I know, bad) and lost 25lbs (well, for a month before I started I was on Weight Watchers, so not ALL of the 25 was from the diet). If you have an overgrowth of Candida, you have to stop eating ANYthing that will help it grow, which is pretty much the diet that RubiRubixCube posted above. Good luck with it!
  • kriss213
    kriss213 Posts: 14
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    I went on the Candida Diet in 2010 for 6 weeks thinking it was candida that was causing my itchiness (all over my body with no bumps or rashes). I hate cooking so I barely ate anything (I know, bad) and lost 25lbs (well, for a month before I started I was on Weight Watchers, so not ALL of the 25 was from the diet). If you have an overgrowth of Candida, you have to stop eating ANYthing that will help it grow, which is pretty much the diet that RubiRubixCube posted above. Good luck with it!

    You said "thinking its was Candida"... was it?

    I've had similar all over body itchiness and have started the Candida diet believing it to be Candida.
  • 02tods
    02tods Posts: 126 Member
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    Nystatin, yes! I was on it for 3 months, a long time. I now take oil of oregano to keep things in check, as well as Super8 probiotics. The candida diet is excellent for losing weight, I have to say. When I was on it, I lost about 25 lbs...it just slipped right off me. Candida will also inhibit weight loss, which is something I'm looking into right now as my 'plateau's' are very stubborn. Candida diet, hello again!
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
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    Nystatin, yes! I was on it for 3 months, a long time. I now take oil of oregano to keep things in check, as well as Super8 probiotics. The candida diet is excellent for losing weight, I have to say. When I was on it, I lost about 25 lbs...it just slipped right off me. Candida will also inhibit weight loss, which is something I'm looking into right now as my 'plateau's' are very stubborn. Candida diet, hello again!

    I agree with her. Ask the doctor for Nystatin. I know in my case my symptoms vanished within 2 weeks. Depending on your situation, it may at least take care of the candida and the yogurt will rebalance everything. It's possible to have this happen due to having taken an antibiotic previously. It doesn't take much. Either way, if it's out of control - you may as well deal with it full force. The diet is ok BUT it won't stop it quickly and you sound like you need it to be controlled to treat the other two issues. I would ask about it. Also, after a pair of weeks, he can check and see if it's reduced and then they can use antibiotics on you for your infection.

    By the way, Nystatin is an older medication, well tested, and it's pretty safe. I'm super sensitive to everything and it's never hurt me.

    P.S. For those of you who might scream "Diet is a better answer", that's not true for everyone. I had body rashes that were out of control (caused by the candida infection) all over me. I needed it controlled fast as I was in big trouble and suffering like I had poison ivy all over my body - a version that would drive any sane person over the edge. If it's that bad for you, and you feel that sick, go to the doctor and ask.
  • wren176
    wren176 Posts: 148 Member
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